The Relationship Between Leader Behaviors and Subordinate Performance: Examining the Moderating Influence of Leader-Member Exchange

Subordinates interpret and react to the behaviors of their leaders. Based on a theory of organizational trust, it was argued that greater trust between subordinate and leader is required to respond appropriately to relations-oriented behaviors than task-oriented behaviors due to a higher level of personal risk to the subordinate. As a consequence of responding appropriately to relations-oriented behaviors, a subordinate immediately becomes identified with or connected to a leader. Such identification requires the specific LMX currency of professional respect be present in order for an adequate amount of trust to be developed. In contrast, task-oriented behaviors ally the subordinate with job and task responsibilities, not necessarily their leader. In these instances, any of the LMX currencies (i.e., professional respect, affect, contribution, or loyalty to the leader) may generate sufficient trust to counter the lower risk involved. In higher-risk situations, professional respect is mandatory for trust to be developed. This variable importance of LMX currencies in developing adequate levels of trust is both consistent with theory and a newer area of LMX research expanded upon by the present study. Therefore, the relationship between a subordinate and leader was hypothesized to increase the effectiveness of specific leader behaviors in raising subordinate performance. Seven mid-level leader behaviors divided into either a task-oriented or relations-oriented factor were examined. It was hypothesized that relations-oriented behaviors (i.e., supporting, mentoring, recognizing, and consulting) required professional respect to be present in the leader-subordinate relationship in order to successfully raise subordinate performance. Task-oriented behaviors (i.e., delegating, clarifying, and inspiring) in contrast, required only one currency of the LMX relationship (i.e., professional respect, affect, contribution, or loyalty) to be present for the behavior to be effective. Data were collected from 240 subordinates at two different high-technology manufacturing organizations located in the Western United States. Two surveys, one at three months job tenure measuring leader behaviors and the LMX relationship and one at six months job tenure measuring performance, were used. A two-factor leader-behavior structure was confirmed using structural equation modeling before hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the relationship between leader behaviors and subordinate performance. The interaction of the leader behavior and the LMX currency was added in the second step of the hierarchical analyses. The relationship between task-oriented behaviors and performance was moderated by the currencies of LMX such that when high levels of any of the currencies were present, greater amounts of the leader behavior were related to higher subordinate performance. For relations-oriented behaviors, only professional respect moderated the performance relationship. At high levels of professional respect, higher amounts of relations-oriented behaviors were related to higher subordinate performance. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed

Magnetic removal of electron contamination in radiotherapy x-ray beams

Removal of contamination electrons to lower patient skin dose from Linac produced radiotherapy x-ray beams is a serious issue in modern radiotherapy. Such removal can be achieved via the use of a magnetic field and is the subject of investigation in this thesis. The magnetic deflector consists of two separate and adjustable banks of permanent Neodymium-Iron-Boron magnets held in a simple Aluminium frame, which slots into the accessory mount of a conventional Varian Clinac 2100C Linear Accelerator. The deflector allows x-ray beams with field sizes of up to 30x30 cm2 (source to surface distance of 100 cm) to pass through without interference, and weighs less than 20 kg. The deflector generates a maximum field of 0.21 T between the magnets along the central axis for a 10 cm magnet bank separation, and similarly 0.07 T for a 20 cm separation. Using the magnetic deflector, experimental measurements at the central beam axis show entry doses that approach that of the theoretical entry dose without electron contamination (Monte Carlo predictions) for 6 and 10MV x-ray beams. These range from 25% (6MV, 10x10 cm field size) to 55% (10MV, 20x20 cm field size with Perspex block trays) relative dose reduction at the phantom surface. Theoretical modelling has been performed which confirms the removal of the electron contamination for these typical clinical x-ray beam energies and field sizes. Pure electron beam path modelling has also been studied using this technique for determining the accuracy of the modelling technique. Results agree closely with experimentally observed values for 5 clinical electron beam energies between 6 and 20 MeV. The theoretical simulations are based around 3-dimensional modelling of the path of the contamination electrons as they travel through the magnetic field set up by the deflector (MATLAB). The magnetic field data used in modelling has been generated by a finite element package (Maxwell 3D). The experimental verification methods include the use of radiographic film and Attix parallel plate ion chambers with solid water phantoms for both qualitative and quantitative measurements

System Level Characterization of the Gridded Retarding Ion Drift Sensor (GRIDS) for the PetitSat Mission

Weather prediction, wherever people live, serves as a beneficial part of everyday life. Weather in the upper portions of Earth’s atmosphere also impacts life on Earth but it is not able to be predicted as well as its terrestrial counterpart. PetitSat is a cube satellite (CubeSat) mission proposed to help remedy this issue. It will collect measurements of charged particles in the upper atmosphere called a plasma. The measurements taken by PetitSat will facilitate better prediction of upper-atmospheric weather. Prediction of when and where weather phenomenon will occur will allow avoidance of negative consequences that can result. Once such negative consequence is satellite and over-the-horizon communications interference. In order to collect these measurements, one of the instruments on PetitSat is a unique combination of two time-tested instruments. The instruments are a retarding potential analyzer (RPA) and an ion drift meter (IDM). Together, they are called the Gridded Retarding Ion Drift Sensor (GRIDS). Work has been done previously in developing firmware and hard-ware for GRIDS. This thesis’ purpose is to document the system level characterization of GRIDS. This will allow the data eventually gathered by GRIDS to be correctly interpreted and show its suitability for the PetitSat mission

Leadership of healthcare commissioning networks in England : a mixed-methods study on clinical commissioning groups

Objective: To explore the relational challenges for general practitioner (GP) leaders setting up new network-centric commissioning organisations in the recent health policy reform in England, we use innovation network theory to identify key network leadership practices that facilitate healthcare innovation. Design: Mixed-method, multisite and case study research. Setting: Six clinical commissioning groups and local clusters in the East of England area, covering in total 208 GPs and 1 662 000 population. Methods: Semistructured interviews with 56 lead GPs, practice managers and staff from the local health authorities (primary care trusts, PCT) as well as various healthcare professionals; 21 observations of clinical commissioning group (CCG) board and executive meetings; electronic survey of 58 CCG board members (these included GPs, practice managers, PCT employees, nurses and patient representatives) and subsequent social network analysis. Main outcome measures: Collaborative relationships between CCG board members and stakeholders from their healthcare network; clarifying the role of GPs as network leaders; strengths and areas for development of CCGs. Results: Drawing upon innovation network theory provides unique insights of the CCG leaders’ activities in establishing best practices and introducing new clinical pathways. In this context we identified three network leadership roles: managing knowledge flows, managing network coherence and managing network stability. Knowledge sharing and effective collaboration among GPs enable network stability and the alignment of CCG objectives with those of the wider health system (network coherence). Even though activities varied between commissioning groups, collaborative initiatives were common. However, there was significant variation among CCGs around the level of engagement with providers, patients and local authorities. Locality (sub) groups played an important role because they linked commissioning decisions with patient needs and brought the leaders closer to frontline stakeholders. Conclusions: With the new commissioning arrangements, the leaders should seek to move away from dyadic and transactional relationships to a network structure, thereby emphasising on the emerging relational focus of their roles. Managing knowledge mobility, healthcare network coherence and network stability are the three clinical leadership processes that CCG leaders need to consider in coordinating their network and facilitating the development of good clinical commissioning decisions, best practices and innovative services. To successfully manage these processes, CCG leaders need to leverage the relational capabilities of their network as well as their clinical expertise to establish appropriate collaborations that may improve the healthcare services in England. Lack of local GP engagement adds uncertainty to the system and increases the risk of commissioning decisions being irrelevant and inefficient from patient and provider perspectives

The prophetic influence in the Psalter

This item was digitized by the Internet Archive. Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Marching to different drum beats: a temporal perspective on coordinating occupational work

In this paper, we contribute a temporal perspective on work coordination across collaborating occupations. Drawing on an ethnographic study of medical specialists – surgeons, pathologists, oncologists and radiologists – we examine how their temporal orientations are shaped through the temporal structuring of occupational work. Our findings show that temporal structuring of occupational practices develop in relation to the contingencies and materialities of their work, and that this shapes, and is shaped by, specialists’ temporal orientations. Further, we show that differences in occupations’ temporal orientation have important implications for coordinating work. More specifically, our study reveals how the domination of one temporal orientation can lead to recurrent strain, promoting a competitive trade-off between the different temporal orientations in guiding interaction. This temporal orientation domination is accompanied by a persistent emotional strain and potential conflict. Finally, we suggest that, alternatively, different temporal orientations can be resourced in solving coordination challenges through three inter-related mechanisms, namely juxtaposing, temporal working, and mutual adjusting. In so doing, we show how temporal resourcing can be productive in coordinating work.Eivor Oborn is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care West Midlands

Digital health and citizen engagement : changing the face of health service delivery

We highlight two contemporary trends that would benefit from more focused research as they have the capacity to significantly reshape health system delivery in the coming decade. The first is digital health and big data science. The second potential landslide is the growing phenomenon of patient and citizen engagement. This paper outlines the key features and rationale for how digital health and increased engagement can reshape health services, pointing to key areas that warrant careful research by healthcare management scholars. We further point to the relationship and overlap of these two areas and suggest that examining the synergy between these two related trends is a third area of priority in health research

Developing collaborative professionalism : an investigation of status differentiation in academic organizations in knowledge transfer partnerships

In recent years there has been a significant growth in knowledge transfer partnerships to improve the quality and timeliness of healthcare. These activities require an increasing level of interdependence between academic and healthcare professionals, with important implications for human resource management. To understand these knowledge transfer partnerships, we conducted an in-depth longitudinal study based on 99 interviews and 5 focus-group workshops across academic and healthcare professionals in nine university-based knowledge transfer partnerships in England. We explore how academic professionals of lower and higher status organizations develop a new form of professional work, based on the principles of collaborative professionalism, during their involvement in partnerships with healthcare professionals. We illuminate how the interdependent work between academic professionals and healthcare professionals in the development of a new academic specialization is shaped by the status of their organization

Policy translation through localisation : implementing national policy in the UK

This paper builds on policy implementation studies, which seek to explain how policies undergo some form of ‘translation’ from general policy guidelines to implementation in practice at the local level. The paper makes two contributions to the policy implementation literature. First, it draws on the concept of ‘local universality’ to suggest that the translation of policy by central actors is not simply transmitted but is iteratively transformed through multiple distributed agencies including local actors, infrastructure, data sets and organisational practices. Second, empirical findings show how structural policy design features influence implementation and (re)shape policy content by incorporating knowledge from practice